


All The Times We Could Have Kissed

by attheendoftheday



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, First Kiss, M/M, Screenplay/Script Format, flagrant abuse of stage directions, i died 6 times while writing this, references to the drink code
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 13:12:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9492902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attheendoftheday/pseuds/attheendoftheday
Summary: Every missed opportunity, expanded upon and set on a stage.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second script and first Sherlock fic I've ever written. It's very self indulgent and looked at by no one except me, so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Comments make my heart sing.
> 
> If/when we receive the Secret Fourth Episode (TM) I'll update to include the canon kiss. Until then - I guess we'll just suffer together.

**********  
FIRST ACT  
SCENE 1  
Stage right is an empty street. Stage left is 221b Baker Street’s interior. The separation between the two is signified by a single door, centerstage. Inside Baker Street there are two chairs (SHERLOCK’s is sleek and black, the other - JOHN’s - a plaid worn armchair with a Union Jack pillow), a fireplace, and doorway leading off to the bedrooms. The interior remains unchanged, regardless of scene. In this particular scene, a small fire has just been lit.

(JOHN and SHERLOCK enter stage right. They are close enough to brush hands as they walk, but hold themselves deliberately apart.)

JOHN: The Chinese was good. Solid recommendation, thanks.  
SHERLOCK: As I said, the door handles are always telling of the quality.  
JOHN: No they aren’t.  
(A beat.)  
SHERLOCK: You sure you’re alright?  
JOHN: Of course.  
SHERLOCK: You killed someone for a man you just met yesterday.  
JOHN: Well. It was your life or a serial killer’s. I know which one I value.  
(A beat.)  
SHERLOCK: Thank you.  
JOHN: Don’t mention it. (He shifts, looks at his left hand. It is still - free of any post-war tremors. He passes it off by looking at his watch. It is cheap.) It’s late.  
SHERLOCK: Is it?  
JOHN: (Clears throat) I best be off. Thanks for Chinese.  
(A beat.)  
SHERLOCK: (Formally) Would you like to come in?  
JOHN: Well you know I’ve - I’ve not moved in yet. All my things - they’re back at the flat.  
SHERLOCK: Yes.  
(A beat.)  
JOHN: Sure. Yeah.  
(They enter through the door, SHERLOCK first, holding it open for JOHN. He closes it behind him, leans against it.)  
SHERLOCK: Coffee?  
JOHN: I’m fine.  
SHERLOCK: Tea?  
JOHN: Oh. Yes, that would be - lovely.  
(A beat. SHERLOCK does not move to leave.)  
JOHN: So.  
SHERLOCK: John, what I said at Angelo’s, I meant -  
JOHN: No, no. No! I understood. Married to your work. I respect that.  
SHERLOCK: I said I was flattered -  
JOHN: I wasn’t trying to come on like -  
SHERLOCK: I’m still flattered. (A beat.) You said you’re unattached.  
JOHN: (Steps closer) You said girlfriends are not your area.  
SHERLOCK: And that boyfriends are fine.  
JOHN: They are - fine. You said you’re not looking.  
SHERLOCK: Well. I’m not looking.  
JOHN: Oh.  
SHERLOCK: I’m seeing.  
(A beat.)  
(JOHN has stepped up to SHERLOCK by the time he has finished speaking. Slowly, carefully, holding something fragile in his grasp, JOHN lifts his hands to SHERLOCK’s face. They stare. SHERLOCK’s hand untenses from the doorknob, floating towards JOHN.)  
(They kiss.)  
END SCENE

**********

FIRST ACT  
SCENE 3  
A public swimming pool, empty except for JOHN and SHERLOCK. Midnight. The lighting is dim, tinted blue, artificial. 

(JOHN stands stage left, an explosive vest strapped onto his chest, and SHERLOCK stands centerstage. SHERLOCK is holding a gun, pointed stage right. There is no threat to be seen, not anymore, but they are both afraid. Like an exhale after a long-held breath, the scene begins.)

(SHERLOCK places his gun on the floor and drops to his knees in front of JOHN, unfastening the vest.)  
SHERLOCK: Alright? (No response.) I said, are you alright?  
JOHN: Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine.(SHERLOCK continues to tug on the jacket, his motions clumsy.)Sherlock. Sherlock!  
(SHERLOCK succeeds in ripping off the vest, sliding it across the floor away from them. He begins to pace.)  
SHERLOCK: I didn’t think he would have used you like that - use you as a target - surprise me, a joke on his part - I should have known Moriarty knew who you were. I didn’t realize.  
JOHN: Jesus. (The adrenaline flooding his body runs out and is replaced by bone-deep exhaustion.) Oh, Christ. (He looks at SHERLOCK.) Are you okay?  
SHERLOCK: Me? Yeah, I’m fine I’m fine. Fine. (He stares at JOHN. He cannot catch his breath.) That, er, thing that you, er, that you did - that, um, you offered to do. That was, um . . . good.  
JOHN: I’m glad no one saw that.  
SHERLOCK: (To himself) He would have killed you. If he didn’t get that call we all would have gone up. But you . . .(He stares at JOHN, as if distracted by something he’s just noticed.)Sorry, what?  
JOHN: You, ripping my clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. People might -  
(SHERLOCK rushes to him, reckless and impulsive, cutting JOHN off. They kiss. They grasp onto each other with the desperation of those who have seen death. It is like the birth of a star contained in a soundproof box. The silence lasts, almost painfully long.)  
(They break apart.)  
(A beat.)  
JOHN: Now people . . . (He tries to laugh, but it is a weak breathless thing) . . . now people will really talk.  
SHERLOCK: People do little else.  
END SCENE

**********

SECOND ACT  
SCENE THREE  
Lab at Bart’s hospital. 

(SHERLOCK sits on the floor, bouncing a rubber ball, leaning against a table. He is grim. JOHN is asleep, head resting on the same table.)

(JOHN’s phone rings, waking him up. He answers, gradually becoming more alert.)  
JOHN: Mm? What happened? Is she okay? Oh my god. Right, yes, I’m coming.  
SHERLOCK: (Emotionless) What is it?  
JOHN: Paramedics. Mrs. Hudson - she’s been shot.  
SHERLOCK: You go. I’m busy.  
JOHN: You’re what? (He awaits a response.) Are you . . . she’s dying, Sherlock. How can you be busy. (SHERLOCK concentrates on his rubber ball, bouncing rhythmically.) You - you machine. You know what? Sod this. You can stay here, on your own.  
SHERLOCK: Alone protects me.  
JOHN: (Explosive) No. Friends protect people.  
(He begins to exit stage left. SHERLOCK catches his rubber ball, clenches it in his hand. His phone beeps, alerting a text message, and is ignored)  
SHERLOCK: Wait. Stop.(JOHN stops.) Mrs. Hudson is fine.  
JOHN: What? But the paramedics said -  
SHERLOCK: There were no paramedics, John. I organized it. Anyone can say they’re anything and be believed, especially over a phone. Haven’t you learned anything from this debacle? Moriarty orchestrated an entire false identity, and other people to confirm it - you don’t think I couldn’t set up a false phone call?  
JOHN: Then what . . . (He trails off. He looks hard at SHERLOCK, who has suddenly seemed to sag, grown smaller underneath his coat. He walks to SHERLOCK, crouches down to the same level.)  
JOHN: Sherlock. What’s happening? I don’t mean with Mrs. Hudson. I mean what’s happening with - all of this.  
SHERLOCK: John, I can’t -  
JOHN: No. You can, you know you can.  
SHERLOCK: It would put you in danger.  
JOHN: Like you’ve never done that before. (A beat.) No, look. I know what lies Moriarty is feeding to the papers, how you’re a fraud, have made it all up, and I don’t believe it, not for a second. When you first met me - you saw me - all of me - and that wasn’t fake. And I know that you’re a genius and I’m an idiot, but I will help you with this. Friends? Friends protect people, Sherlock, but only - only if they let themselves be protected.  
(They realize how close they have drifted.)  
SHERLOCK: (Close to breaking) I can’t . . . I don’t -  
JOHN: Sherlock. Look at me. What do you need?  
(A beat.)  
SHERLOCK: (As an exhalation) You.  
(There is a beat. Softly, so softly, the two kiss. It is not clear who initiates; it doesn’t matter.)  
JOHN: (Softly) What can I give you?  
SHERLOCK: (He stares at JOHN. His phone beeps, alerting another text message.) Mycroft and I - we made a plan for what would come next. We prepared. I’m going to meet Moriarty on this roof, see what his next move is. (A beat.) I’m afraid.  
JOHN: I know.  
SHERLOCK: There are eleven possibilities for what’s coming. You won’t like any of them.  
JOHN: I know. (A beat.) Tell me anyway.  
END SCENE

**********

THIRD ACT  
SCENE TWO  
Baker Street. 11pm. Stag night. A fire roars white hot behind the fireplace grate. 

(JOHN and SHERLOCK sit in their respective chairs, trying to guess which names are written on the paper taped to their foreheads. They are drunk. They are playing a game.)

SHERLOCK: Am I the current king of England?  
JOHN: (Laughs) You know we don’t have a king.  
SHERLOCK: Don’t we?  
JOHN: No.  
SHERLOCK: Your go. (He sits back, legs splayed, wine glass held loosely in one hand.)  
(JOHN shoots forward, overestimating the distance and very nearly tilting out of his chair. He places his left hand on SHERLOCK’s right knee, hauls himself up. He shrugs.)  
JOHN: I don’t mind.  
SHERLOCK: (Muted) Any time.  
JOHN: Any time.  
SHERLOCK: Mm.  
(JOHN slides his hand up SHERLOCK’s thigh.)  
JOHN: Really.  
SHERLOCK: But what about -  
JOHN: Don’t - don’t say her name.  
(A beat.)  
SHERLOCK: I don’t - if you’re -  
JOHN: Yeah. (He grabs SHERLOCK’s jacket, pulls him up. They kiss. It is messy.)  
(They stand, stumbling, clutching each other, and exit through the bedroom door.)  
END SCENE

**********

THIRD ACT  
SCENE THREE

Tarmac. 

(JOHN and SHERLOCK stand centerstage, facing each other. MYCROFT stands further stage left. MARY stands stage right.)

JOHN: Where are you going now?  
SHERLOCK: Oh, some undercover work in Eastern Europe.  
JOHN: For how long?  
SHERLOCK: Six months, my brother estimates. He’s never wrong. (He has accepted his death. He does not want JOHN to know that he will not come back.)  
JOHN: And then what?  
SHERLOCK: Who knows?  
(JOHN realizes that SHERLOCK will not come back.)  
(A beat.)  
SHERLOCK: John, there’s something . . . . I should say, I’ve meant to say, always, and then never have. Since it’s unlikely we’ll ever meet again, I might as well say it now. (They both know what he is going to say, and they are afraid.) I love you.  
(A beat, and then another.)  
(JOHN grabs SHERLOCK by the lapels of his jacket. They kiss. It is an ugly thing.)  
(They break away. SHERLOCK exits stage left, followed by MYCROFT.)  
(JOHN stares, and falls to his knees.)  
JOHN: That selfish bastard.  
(MARY crosses to stage left. She puts her hand on his shoulder. It gives no comfort - but then, she doesn’t mean for it to.)  
END SCENE

**********

FOURTH ACT  
SCENE TWO

Baker Street. A fire is sputtering. 

(SHERLOCK is sitting in his chair. JOHN is standing. They are worse for wear.)

JOHN: I cheated on her. Just texting. But I wanted more. I still do. I’m not - I’m not the man you thought I was. (He takes a breath.) Who you thought I was . . . is the man who I want to be. I can never be him.  
(A beat. JOHN folds inward. He begins to cry.)  
(SHERLOCK stands.)  
SHERLOCK: Forgive me, but you are doing yourself a disservice. I have known many people in this world but made few friends, and I can safely say that yes, you can be him, the man you want to be. (With less force) Because - that’s who you are, to - people. (JOHN shakes. SHERLOCK hesitates, then tentatively, softly, he puts his arms around JOHN.) It’s okay.  
JOHN: It’s not okay.  
SHERLOCK: No, it’s not. (A beat.) But it is what it is.  
(They stand, both trembling.)  
(They do not kiss. It would be redundant.)  
END SCENE


End file.
